MLB Player News

Merrifield is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

With Merrifield stuck in an 8-for-40 slump in July, manager Ned Yost will turn the keystone over to Christian Colon for the second straight day. It's likely that Merrifield has built up enough goodwill over the course of his breakthrough season to retain the top spot on the depth chart, but with his BABIP beginning to normalize, the 27-year-old's batting line is starting to become less appealing.

Andrus went 1-for-3 with an RBI infield single in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Cubs.

The veteran shortstop broke open the scoring with a second-inning infield single that plated Ryan Rua, which would turn out to be the only run the Rangers managed on the afternoon. Andrus has now hit safely in five of six games, and is slashing .333/.378/.564 over 39 at-bats in July.

Merrifield is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Tigers, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

The 27-year-old has remained a fixture atop the lineup for Kansas City despite his slow start to July (8-for-40), but the Royals have been struggling to score runs consistently and manager Ned Yost may be inclined turn back to Alcides Escobar in the leadoff spot more regularly. A move down in the order would obviously hurt Merrifield, as his run-scoring chances would likely decrease significantly.

Marte (ankle) is not in the lineup for Saturday's matchup with Houston, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Marte exited Friday's game with an ankle sprain caused by a slide at third base and appears to need some time off to return to full health. It's unclear at this point whether he'll need a stay on the DL, but in the meantime, Shawn O'Malley figures to see some fill-in starts at shortstop.

Forsythe went 2-for-5 with an RBI single and a run in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Orioles.

The 29-year-old brought in the returning Kevin Kiermaier with an RBI single in the second and has hit safely in three of the last four contests. Forsythe is still struggling in July despite the multi-hit effort Friday, slashing just .200/.250/.333 over his first 45 at-bats of the month.

Marte has been diagnosed with a mild ankle sprain, Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

It's not clear which ankle is bothering Marte, but he was forced to exit Friday's game after being injured sliding into third base with his right foot first. The "mild" designation indicates Marte's setback is not believe to be serious, so he should have a chance to return to action as soon as Saturday.

Marte was removed from Friday's game with an apparent ankle injury, MLB.com's Greg Johns reports.

Marte was injured sliding into third base while trying to come up with a triple in the bottom of the third inning. The Mariners figure to provide an update once more is known about his status. Shawn O'Malley took over at shortstop following Marte's exit.

Giavotella is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Giavotella started 17 of the previous 18 games, but Gregorio Petit will man the keystone for the final contest before the All-Star break. Giavotella will likely be back in the lineup when the Angels return to action July 15.

Semien went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk Friday at the Astros.

Semien launched his 15th bomb of the year to give the Athletics a 3-0 lead in a game they'd go on to lose. He's now left the yard four times in his last nine games to raise his slugging percentage to .482.

Forsythe went 1-for-5 with a solo homer Wednesday against the Angels.

Forsythe's seventh blast of the year got the Rays on the board in the sixth inning, but only drew the team within six runs in a losing effort. This was the first extra-base hit he's collected in his last six games, and he's now slashing .295/.357/.482 on the year.